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Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Esoteric Recordings have always keep my wish list growing,
growing, and growing. On my blog site, I’ve been a big champion of the label from their reissues and supporting new bands/artists since their launch in 2007. Next year will be
the 10th anniversary of the label, which has been a part of the Cherry Red family. So who knows what
surprises will lay ahead for them in 2017. One of them is a reissue they’ve released
this year of Gravy Train’s third album, Second
Birth.

Formed in St. Helen’s, Lancashire in 1969, the combination of the two that started the wheel of Gravy Train's chugging were; J.D. Hughes (Wind instruments, Keyboards,
and Vocals) and Bassist Les Williams. Soon Drummer Barry Davenport and vocalist
and guitar player Norman Barratt joined the force of Gravy Train. The band did
some rehearsals in the summer of 1969 at St. Helen’s Cricket Club in Merseyside
before being signed to the Veritgo label.

The band released two albums (the self-titled debut and (A Ballad) Of A Peaceful Man) one of them
didn’t do well, but the second album showed an assembling sound in their music. It wasn’t until they switched from Vertigo to the Dawn label
which was a progressive subsidiary label for Pye Records. They recorded their
third album at Orange Studios in North London. By this time during the making
of the album, Barry quit the band, but he only appeared on three of the tracks
(Morning Coming, Fields and Factories, and
Tolpuddle Episode).

What happened was Barry was getting exhausted and fed up
that the band was not getting anywhere, plus no money, along with stress he was
going through. He suddenly had a breakdown and left. Russell Caldwell took his
place after a long extensive search that the band went through to find the
right person to fill Barry’s shoes.

Listening to Second
Birth, it’s a diverse album. There were some inspirations between Jethro
Tull, CSNY, Cream, and bits of East of Eden. When you listen to songs like September Morning News, it has this West
Coast Sound thanks to the Country/Folk rhythmic sound of the Acoustic Guitar
and Barratt channeling his Neil Young style on his vocals along with as I’ve
mentioned the harmonizing vocals of CSNY.

Tolpuddle Episode is
another Acoustic Folky composition that has this bright and gentle arrangement as
the lyrics deal with a strong concept of hoping for a new beginning and a new
life in a new year while the music goes towards the reminiscent of Colin Scot
and Gary Farr. Strength of a Dream, I
can imagine this song thanks to it’s ballad and melodic melodies and a
different side to Gravy Train with their sliding guitar work, their homage to
George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass-era.

And when I listen to that song, I could tell that the band
honor the sound and the style of his guitar playing and the album’s music is
everywhere on the composition. It feels like it was recorded for the album’s
sessions, but cut off due to time restraints. And Gravy Train’s song nails the
Harrison tribute. Now let’s get to the rocking side of the band’s music.

There’s this classical guitar fast passage that Norman does
in which it is a very tricky and hard riff-line in that tempo. You can hear the
sonata format on Motorway which
features thumping rhythm guitars and drums along with the bass and flute work
a-la Tull styles with the homage to East of Eden’s Mercator Projected-era. The opening track, Morning Coming, feels as if it is a blaring alarm that is coming
right behind you like a roaring monster from the guitars.

It is a great introduction to the start the album as if it
is like a cannon blast coming out of the horizons to start the engines up. Not
to mention the midsection featuring these mourning lyrical settings with guitars,
drums, and keyboards setting this church-like choir. The closing title-track
begins as I’ve mentioned, the fast passages that Norman does on his guitar
along with Hughes’ flute between Melodic melody guitar/flute essence resembling
Premiata Forneria Marconi and pre-Iron Maiden.

Inspired by controversial figure Norman Mailer’s novel in
which I think in my opinion, it might be his debut novel in 1948 entitled, The
Naked and the Dead. The lyrics are haunting and it delves into a disturbing view
of the fictional universe between war and politics as the music sets the tone
through the story. The midsection has a Van Der Graaf Generator twist and it is
a chilling 7-minute story-song before fading into the night of what will happen
next.

The bonus track, Good
Time Girl which was released as a B-side, sees Gravy Train having a great
time as they channel a shuffling Glam Rock take between the essence cross-over
of Slade, The Kinks, String Driven Thing, and Ian Hunter. It is a rockin’
single and it shows them having a blast to get down into the groove and hitting
the dance floors.

When the album was released in 1973, it didn’t do well. The
band went back on the road and were supporting many of the big names including
Genesis, Roxy Music, and Nazareth to name a few. The band broke up after the
release of their fourth and final album, Staircase
to the Day in 1974. When you listen to Second
Birth, you can understand why this band were way ahead of their time.

It’s a shame they never got the recognition they deserve
during the golden-era of the Progressive Rock scene of the 1970s. And with the
Esoteric reissue which contains a 16-page booklet with liner notes by Malcolm
Dome and interviews with J.D. Hughes about the history of the band and the
making of their third album along with a little snippet interview with Norman
Barratt.

Sadly, Norman passed away in 2011. And as I’ve mentioned
Gravy Train never got the recognition they deserve, once you put this album on.
You can tell where they could have gone and why they deserve some recognition.
Let’s hope Esoteric does more of the Gravy Train reissues (they’ve already reissued
their last album Staircase to the Day)
including the first two albums released on Vertigo.

Friday, November 25, 2016

Now while we have gone through the Turkey coma, this will be a perfect time to name the top 15 reissues of 2016. The top 35 albums of 2016 will be up sometime in December. But if you've been very good and want to ask Santa to name the albums that you've been really wanting to get for Christmas, here are my top 15 reissues of 2016. Criticism is welcome1. The Move - Reissues (Esoteric Recordings)2. Jethro Tull - Stand Up: The Elevated Edition (Chrysalis)3. Yes - Tales from Topographic Oceans (Panegyric) 4. Anthony Phillips - 1984 (Esoteric Recordings)5. Anthony Phillips - Sides (Esoteric Recordings)

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Next year, will mark the 50th anniversary between
the Summer of Love, the year music was changing. The year The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Pink
Floyd’s overlooked debut, The Piper at
the Gates of Dawn, and Procol Harum releasing their sole self-titled debut
and their groundbreaking single, A Whiter
Shade of Pale. But it was more than just those amazing albums and the
Summer of Love. That and this amazing 3-CD set done by the great people by
Grapefruit Records which is a part of the Cherry Red family.

It’s called, Let’s Go
Down and Blow Our Minds: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967. It’s
released in a clamshell box set done with a 41-page booklet about the history
of the time period and focusing on the obscure, pop, novelty, unearthed
nuggets, and histories about the bands/artists behind the music done by David
Wells. This was like looking through the outside door of the closet and magic
flowing out with brilliancy of the music that was ahead of its time. Along with some amazing highlights on here.

The title of Let’s Go
Down and Blow Our Minds, comes from the song, Toyland which opens the set done by The Alan Bown. It’s a very
whimsical, acoustical, flute, and symphonic of going through the dreamscape of
a wonderland filled with Toys to be a kid all over again. The big ones are on
here including The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’s Give Him a Flower, Procol Harum’s Kaliedoscope, the proto glam-garage rock crunch of The Move’s Vote For Me, and the eerie scenario of Defecting Grey by The Pretty Things.

Elsewhere there’s the Denny Laine-era of The Moody Blues
which he would embark on his career with Paul McCartney & Wings as he last
appeared with the band on the soul/R&B touch, Life’s Not Life. We delve into the underground scene from The
Purple Gang’s psych ragtime with a humoristic approach named after the shop
called, Granny Takes a Trip, the
homage to the Syd Barrett-era of Pink Floyd, Traffic and The Who’s Silas Stingy is evidential on The Riot
Squad which features the late David Bowie on Toy Soldier.

Not to mention John Children featuring Marc Bolan of T. Rex
delving more into Garage-Psych Rock flavor on Desdemona, The Doves essence of a romantic Smokeytime Springtime, Rupert’s People’s mournful with a soul/psych
organ beauty for the Reflections of
Charles Brown, Dantalian’s Chariot’s running through the speed of light of the
insane asylum on The Madman Running
Through the Fields, The Artwoods’ galloping drums, haunting organ and story
of Into the Deep End, and The Flower
Pot Men channeling the essence of Sagittarius meets The Beach Boys Pet Sounds-era of A Walk in the Sky.

Then there’s the obscurity hidden treasures. There’s the
homage to the Jeff Beck-era of The Yardbirds with Pink, Purple, Yellow and Red by The Sorrows, Elmer Gantry’s Velvet
Opera usage of proto-psych punk of the Bass ready to drive into the
sunrise for the fires to go up in Flames,
Sweet Feeling’s lyrical essence of The Kinks comes to mind for a marching
beat for All So Long Ago, Skip
Bifferty’s Schizoid Revolution which
was about Lindisfarne’s Alan Hull who worked as a nurse in a psychiatric
hospital, and Richmond group, Sands paying homage to Gustav Holst’s Mars from the Planets suite played with
a distorted feedback guitar along with the sound an air raid siren.

It is one of the most twists and turns that goes from
psychedelic pop into nightmarish terror, and closes out the compilation.
Funnily enough, Brian Epstein who was the Beatles manager, signed the band to his
NEMS management company which was released on Stigwood’s Reaction label along
with the flip side of their cover of the Bee Gees Mrs. Gillespie’s Refrigerator. Unfortunately the single disappeared
after Brian’s death in that same year.

The 3-CD set is a wonderful discovery of listening to these
unearthed, familiar, and overlooked gems of 1967. Grapefruit Records have done
it again and I hope they will continue to do more to search for more unearthed
recordings from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. If you love the psychedelic era
along with Lenny Kaye’s Nuggets compilation,
then this is the one you need Santa to write and ask him to put on your
Christmas wish list.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Formed 14 years ago by Craig Fortnam (Arch Garrison and Knifeworld), North Sea Radio Orchestra are this cross
between Chamber, Alternative Classical, and Victorian Music. They have released
three albums from 2006 to 2011. It’s been five years since they’ve released
another album. This year, they’ve released their fourth album entitled Dronne. Two years ago, the band
performed in Lyon at the Nuits de Fourviere Festival performing the music and
legacy of Robert Wyatt which Craig conducted.

In the NSRO performing Wyatt’s music alongside the band were
William D. Drake (Cardiacs) and John Greaves of Henry Cow for the live performance. They decided to put
a cover of one of Robert’s composition from his fourth album released in 1985
on Old Rottenhat entitled The British Road. This is an amazing
honor and beautiful take of the song. They honor the song as they do it in the
style of Terry Riley’s A Rainbow in
Curved Air with the keyboards before delving on the train voyage of the
Krautrock adventure.

Craig and his wife Sharron share vocals each other on the
song and they deliver justice to the piece. Guitar
Miniature No. 4 sees Craig himself doing a folky-jig classical guitar down
across the dancing sidewalk while Queen
of All the Day and Night gives Sharron spooky vibes between this amazing arrangement
of the song. You have this rapid ticking noise along with the violins done by
Brian Wright with a middle-eastern vibe as you imagine yourself waking up and
seeing the beautiful landscapes of India with a pastoral vibe.

I can imagine Sharron paying tribute to the Acid Folk scene.
Not just that, but there is this lyrical texture set in this Victorian-era of
England done in the styles of Ray Davies. The title track brings to mind not
just the realms of Riley’s electronic compositions, but in the spacey voyages
of Gong’s Radio Gnome trilogy as if
Steve Reich himself was conducting the whole thing and making it surreal,
strange, and hypnotic.

The opener, Arcade features
guitars, and piano done by James Lacrombe as if both he and Craig share the same
melodies between each other. With woodwind instruments setting up the scene by
opening up a book that has been dusted and never touched for 73 years, opening
up the book and the sounds of the Chamber-Pop musical mind as if you are
looking through between the pages of the past and present before heading
towards to see what the future holds for you.

While I have mentioned about the sharing vocals between
Craig and his wife, Sharron in which both of them do an incredible job, the
song Alsace Lorraine is Craig doing a
take of lullaby of cradling a child to put them to sleep in a gentle
composition. It is a terrific piece that do a duet as the violins and cello
brings some sadness and lifting beauty that will bring you to tears.

The closing 2-part suite, Dinosaurus Rex starts off in part one with medieval chamber music
a-la Mike Oldfield style between Nicola’s B-flat bass clarinet, Luke Crookes’
bassoon, Harry Escott’s cello, and Brian Wright’s violin work along with a
mid-fast fingerpicking acoustic guitar and organ sections with a wicked twist
of humor. The second part ends with a solemn atmosphere to close the album off.

It’s been two years since I’ve discovered North Sea Radio
Orchestra when I bought I A Moon on
Wayside Music and I almost forgotten about them. But with their new album, I
was completely blown away right from the get-go. This is a very good, surreal,
weird, beautiful, and staggering album I’ve listened to. I hope Craig continues
to do more with the NSRO and Dronne is
an album exploring the music of the Experimental, Chamber, Canterbury, and
Folky side of their sound.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

This 2-CD/2-DVD set contains an amazing reissue of Jethro
Tull’s second album released in the summer of 1969 as Stand Up: The Elevated Edition. Originally released in August of
that year on the pink Island label in Europe and on the Reprise label in the
States, this was a diverse album. It shows Tull moving away from the Blues-Rock
sound that was on their 1968 debut, This
Was, into more of a Progressive, Folk, Jazz, and Classical approach they
were moving into.

By this time period in 1968, Mick Abrahams left the band to form
Blodwyn Pig before the band went on to record the second album because he felt
that they should stay to the Blues roots and tension was between him, Ian, and Glenn. Enter, Martin
Lancelot Barre who would join to take Abrahams place on guitar and be the only
band member with Ian from 1969 to 2011. It’s not a concept album, but it’s more
of a lyrical structure album dealing with Ian Anderson’s relationship between
the band members and his family.

This was also Ian’s writing all the lyrics and in full
control of the music. What I love also about this amazing set, is the homage to
the children’s pop-up cover of the band members done by woodcarver James
Grashow who worked on the album cover of the Stand Up album. You have Bach’s Bouree
done in the style of a walking Jazz-Classical melody thanks to the late
great Glenn Cornick’s bass. He takes his Bass through the jazz melody before
delving into a rhythm style groove in the midsection.

While this album is at times, semi-autobiographical from Ian’s
point of view and dealing with his issues with his Mom and Dad on Back to the Family and For a Thousand Mothers, it shows while
that you are on the road and while they might oppose to what you do, it is a
struggle that you want their approval to know that you’re not a little kid
anymore, but you’ve worked hard and hard to make it. These two tracks are
bluesy, psychedelic, and showing nod to Traffic.

Fat Man is an
intense Celtic Folk Rock foot-stomping rhythm with a thunderous percussion work
done by Clive Bunker while Ian is punching through the incredible strumming on
his Acoustic Guitar and the Mandolin as the song deals with while you are an
easy target being picked on as the fat one, you know you’ll reach a boiling
point by knowing they push you too far, you push back.

The opener A New Day
Yesterday and Nothing Is Easy, which
features a crunching heavy riff blues-rockin’ opener and Ian’s switch both from
Harmonica to Flute is jaw-dropping along with Martin’s instrument going through
a circular phasing sound as the sixth track with Martin delivering the message
again as Clive delves into some of the essence of a mode style in the work of
Buddy Rich.

Inspired by Jack Kerouac’s novels, Desolation Angels and Dharma
Bums which Tull paid homage to Kerouac’s title on Dharma For One for This Was,
We Used to Know is a moving and touching ballad on looking back on the winter
of 1967 of him living in the Attic room in the coldest part of the day. The shillings
in the lyric was him to put in the electric meter and get the electric fire. You have to imagine what Ian was going through during that
rough period. It’s such a wonderful song and dealing with the hardships of
struggling to make it big.

The bonus tracks contain the original 1969 mono single mixes, 1969 stereo single mixes, and new
stereo mixes done by Steven Wilson who has done the new remix of the entire album,
the singles Living in the Past and Driving Song. And it includes the studio
in which the band were recording in Morgan Studios of doing a different version
of Bouree. And BBC Sessions they did
for John Peel who would later turn his back on Tull. Not to mention two radio
spots for the second album.

The second CD contains a live performance they did on January
9, 1969 at the Stockholm Konserthuset in which they were a
supporting act for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. This contains the second show
and you can close your eyes and be at the concert and witnessing this band
giving the Blues Rocking powerhouse and knowing that they would get the
audience’s stamp of approval.

Including different lyrics for the first show on To Be Sad is a Mad Way to Be. On Martin’s Tune, it is an incredible
composition on the live performance of the second set. Both Ian and Martin are
on fire and it’s almost as if they are taking turns between each other on who
would do some improvisations between wood and guitar as it goes up higher and
higher.

There is a calming moment in the last 3-minutes before
descending into a climatic end with audience’s applauding at the right
moment. Now with To Be Sad is a Mad Way to Be, features Glenn’s walking Bass lines
along with the harmonica as the song they would take notes from Howlin’ Wolf or
Willie Dixon as if they could have written this song for themselves or for
Muddy Waters on the blues label, Checker Records.

Steven himself has done an amazing job capturing the spirit
of the album with the new mix. He knew that the tracks had to be cleaned up and
improved and bringing the vocals in front. For example on the single, Living in the Past, there was an Organ
track which was issued in the 1972 issue irreversible of removing the flute
track. But what Steven did was that he contained both the original and later
mix and combined it into one.

The DVD contains both the new stereo mix, the original mix
in a flat transfer, 5.1 mix, and concert footage of Tull at the Stockholm
Konserthuset of the two clips containing To
Be Sad is a Mad Way to Be and Back
into the Family. The 112 booklet contains Nick Logan’s original report he wrote
for the NME when he was on the road with Tull in 1969, Ian Anderson’s
annotation of the album, Extensive article by Martin Webb about the making of Stand Up, a tribute to Glenn Cornick
including his selected discography alongside Tull with Wild Turkey, The John
Evan Band, The Executives, Karthago, and Paris.

An interview with James “Jimmy” Grashow, photos of the band,
Remembering Andy Johns with an interview assistant Engineer, John Burns, and
the full chronological 1969 tour dates and recording. This is a must have set if you are a Tull fan and for me, it’s
one of my favorite albums that I highly recommend for either Christmas or
Hanukkah that you need to have Santa to write that you want as a gift.

I would
like to close out a small quote from Jack Kerouac’s novel, Desolation Angels; “Hope is a
word like a snow-drift. This is the Great Knowing, this is the Awakening, this
is Voidness. So shut up, live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.”

Sunday, November 20, 2016

One of the most mind-blowing bands to come out of Columbus,
Ohio is a group called Eye. They have released their third album entitled, Vision and Ageless Light. This was an
album I was really excited for because I have almost forgotten about them since
hearing their debut in 2011, Center of
the Sun. With two albums in the can and a live album, and different line-up
changes, Eye are back in action and being signed to The Laser’s Edge label, it
shows there’s no stopping them.

When it was announced this year they were releasing the new
album and coming in November before Thanksgiving, I went ahead and pre-ordered
the album from The Laser’s Edge website. With five tracks including one
clocking in at 27 minutes, the new line-up which Eye drummer Brandon Smith who’s
played on the first two albums, he still has the goods.

Opener, Book of the
Dead features the Mellotron going through the strings and cello sections
between the mind of Eloy and King Crimson’s Lizard-era
before Brandon’s drums open the floodgates as the electronic synths kick in by
Lisa herself as she delves into the mode of the late, great Edgar Froese. Michael
and Jon do some rumbling rhythms in a fuzz tone/dooming sound on the Guitar and
Bass before Jon and Lisa head into a jazzier section as they Kill the Slavemaster.

The arrangements are staggering and almost as if Lisa is
conducting and writing a story in the styles of both Richard Corben and Michael Moorcock and doing
something straight out of the adult illustrated fantasy comic-book, Heavy Metal. What I also love about Eye,
is they pay homage to not just the late ‘60s and early ‘70s of psychedelic and
progressive music, but doing in the styles of a band.

With Searching, they
do the song in the styles of East of Eden’s Northern
Hemisphere and my eye-brows went up right from the moment they head back
into the milky way as they hurl through the cosmic voyages of Space Rock. They
take their ship with a roaring sound to get ready for action to search for new
life. And then Brandon goes into the drumming techniques of Mitch Mitchell in
the Hendrix-sque groove.

Eye really gives listeners some unexpected twists and turns.
And they do! The band switch from Space into Psych-Acoustic-Folk music with the
mood melodies of insanity into the space-like sky with double-tracked vocal
effects with the delay/reverb sounds with mid-tempo rhythms to meet the Dweller of the Twilight Void. The finale
which clocks in at 27 minutes and 11 seconds is, As Sure as the Sun.

With the acoustic guitars coming in and mellotron’s galore,
Lisa takes her keyboards into the styles of the Krautock scene. All of a sudden it
transforms to a heavy, swirling, militant, and dynamic format of Rush’s A Farewell to Kings-era meets Nektar’s A Tab in the Ocean-era. It feels as if a
story is taking place as this character is going on a suicidal mission going to
sacrifice his life by heading towards the heart of the sun and knowing he will
be at peace instead of living like a manic depressive.

Lisa is very much in the haywire modes on her keyboards as
Brandon goes a bit all over the place on the drums. There are some driving
sections a-la ASTRA style with chugging grooves as guitars with the lead and
rhythm sections blare out of the soaring tunnels as it changes into atmospheric
haunting melodies from the minds of Annot Rhul and Van Der Graaf Generator and of course, Nektar.

Vision and Ageless
Light is a welcome back for the band. It is weird, mind-boggling, and out of this world, but it is an accomplishment. This is one of the most powerful journey's I’ve listened to and I hope they will do more for
the next years to come. If you are new to the band’s music, this is worth
recommending.

Friday, November 18, 2016

It’s been two weeks since I’ve done a review lately.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up very soon, so it’s to do a review for
some albums. This afternoon, I received a package in the mail of a band that
just completely took me off the edge of my seat. It was this cross between
Progressive, Post, Kraut, and Space Rock. A four-piece from Limerick, Ireland
called Zombie Picnic.

They have released their debut album entitled, A Suburb of Earth. The band considers
Brian Fitzgerald on Bass, James Griffin on Guitar, Dave Tobin on Guitar, and
Brendan Miller on Drums. It is a journey to the infinite worlds inspired by the
beat poets of the 1950s and the classic of science fiction who is known for his
work on 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur
C. Clarke.

The music is very mysterious, cosmic, and exaggerating. I
can hear the influences between The Fierce and The Dead, CAN, NEU!, Radiohead,
Hawkwind, Mogwai, and Elephant9 with Reine Fiske. They know their influences
well to the spot on here. The six-string textures of the duo between Griffin
and Tobin, is the “Holy Shit!” momentum. It’s almost as if they are new
captains along with Fitzgerald and Miller’s incredible rhythm section on both
Bass and Drums.

I love how they would use reverb/delay effects of the tone
setting of going into the outer limits of space, time, and poetry combined. It
is a real treat for what the four-piece have brought. It feels as if you are in
hyper-space with a blaring soundtrack inside your mind with four instrumental
pieces that clock in 7, 8, 10, and 11-minutes. It was for me a real surprise.

Not just because it’s an awesome debut, but the way the
four-piece have worked really hard and made sure note-by-note, space-by-space
Zombie Picnic took some baby steps to create an outer space/milky way
adventure. With creativity, cosmic, and thumping rhythmic adventures, A Suburb of Earth is the album I
recommend. And to close out in the words of the episode, Space Madness from The Ren
& Stimpy Show, “All right Space
Cadets! Prepare to hurtle through the cosmos!”

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

I first became aware of Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen’s music
when I first heard about her on Sid Smith’s blog, Postcards from the Yellow Room. As I’ve
mentioned in one of my reviews, whenever Sid plays or writes about something on
his blog, podcasts, or on PROG Magazine, that would make my ears light up, I
know I have to put that on my wish list. The Rune Grammofon label is one of my favorites. It's up there with
MoonJune, Cunieform, AltrOck, Esoteric Recordings, Laser’s Edge, Rise Above
Records, and the Svart label.

They always release something special and mind-blowing albums from the label.
Whether it would be Fire! Orchestra, Motorpsycho, Grand General, Elephant9, or
the Hedvig Mollestad Trio, they know my ears would perk up to some amazing
bands from the label. Back two years ago, I went and bought Hedvig Mollestad
Trio’s Enfant Terrible on Wayside
Music and it completely knocked me out of my socks off. This year, she’s
released her new album entitled, Black
Stabat Mater.

When it was shown on one of the new arrivals on The Laser’s
Edge website, I bought straight away. Listening to this album, Hedvig’s guitar
playing is like a menacing forceful eruptive explosion that is waiting to
happen at the right moment. With the textures of Jazz, Space Rock, Doom Metal,
and Post-Rock voyages through the outer limits, she creates this tension. Not
only her playing is out of this world, but Ellen Brekken’s Bass, and Ivar Loe
Bjornstad’s drumming set the engines engaged to hyper-speed.

There is some elements between early Hawkwind, Black
Sabbath, Ash Ra Tempel, and King Crimson. She really takes the listener to
those voyages and there’s no stopping her now along with her fellow comrades to
keep the fuzzing sound thanks to Ellen and intense drumming techniques by Ivar.
She is the new commander-in-chief on the metallic spaceship and the new captain
of extra mind-blowing adventures through the five compositions.

With riffs, chord changes, and insane moments, you baldly
need to turn this volume all the way up to kingdom come. She’s a very busy
person. Mind you, the trio really get down into some space voyage business. It’s
also my third time listening to Black
Stabat Mater. And I was blown away right from the get-go and knowing she is
a damn good and excellent guitar player.

I’ve mentioned a quick second ago, she’s a very busy person.
She collaborated with bands/artists such as the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Hilde
Marie Kjersem, The Cumshots, and El Doom and the Born Electric. And now she is
going to be on the new White Willow album released next year. To me, it’s a stamp
of approval and a perfect combination for her to work with some of these
bands/artists and of course White Willow.

Who says women can’t play an instrument? They can. And they
can kick some gigantic ass with it. Hedvig herself will blow you away for the space
madness adventure she will take you on with the Black Stabat Mater.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Since I was blown away by this band from Chile thanks to their
2014 debut album Estripe Litica, Hominido
are back again with a follow up their debut with the release of their second album
entitled, Alados which is
self-released this year. The word Alados translated, means Wings. It
is a concept album about Birds from Chile and how their personalities of the
birds are related to the characteristics of the human race. It’s a diverse
album from their debut and it shows at times, a classical side to Hominido.

There’s also a different line-up. Javier Briceno takes over
Eliana’s role as vocals, Francisco Martin isn’t there on his bass as Natan Ide
is taking the bass over with his Touch Guitar a-la Trey Gunn and Tony Levin
style! But also Rodrigo’s drumming, gives it the driving beat and the heart,
soul-like force of the sound of Hominido. With bits of keyboards flowing in,
but in the album the band uses; Trumpets, Violins, Duduks, and French Horns.

Listening to Alados,
you can close your eyes and imagine yourself being the landscapes of Chile and
visiting the exotic birds and how they relate of what the humans go through.
With Melodic, World Music, Metal, and a Progressive side to them, the lyrics
are sung in Spanish and it sets the background and tempo through the atmosphere
with 11 tracks throughout the entire album.

I can hear the styles between Steven Wilson, Syndone, King
Crimson, and Gentle Giant and I can imagine the influences flow well into
Hominido’s music. Now Javier’s vocals reaches higher peaks throughout his
arrangements and while there are dramatic approaches with thundering moments, the
birds fly to meet their flock to teach their little ones to fly.

Fanfare anthems, Spaghetti Westerns, and Salsa Grooves
thrown into the blender from the horn sections, I always imagine Ennio
Morricone conducting the band and letting them do whatever they want by using carte
blanche and have creative control by letting the band do whatever they would like. This is my second listen of hearing Alados. As I’ve mentioned before, it is a diverse album, and while
the new sound may find listeners interesting to see where the band will lead
into next, it is a very good album.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Formed in 1973 in their hometown in Washington D.C., The
Muffins were this combination between the Canterbury scene and the Rock In
Opposition movement. They were a cross between Gong, Hatfield and the North,
Henry Cow, Frank Zappa, and the Soft Machine. In 1978, they released their
debut album entitled Manna/Mirage
which Cuneiform Records reissued 25 years ago.

The band considers Billy Swan on Bass, Piano Guitar, and
Percussions, Paul Sears on Drums, Gong, Xylophone, Vibes, Percussions, Pots,
Pans, and Pennywhistle, Tom Scott on Wind Instruments and Percussion and Dave
Newhouse on Keyboards, Wind Instruments, and Percussions. There are four tracks
two of which are 15 and 22-minutes.

Opener, Monkey with
the Golden Eyes features flute, electric piano, oboe combining with
Wyatt-sque backgrounds done in the style of the Northettes arrangements with
beautiful textures before the alarming and rising Organs with xylophones in the
reminiscent of Egg’s Dave Stewart. Then it becomes a nightmarish Free-Jazz
Avant-Garde 12-tone harmonies in the style of David Bedford and Frank Zappa as
if they conducted together of wind improvisations between Scott, Newhouse, and
Sears swirling chaotic drums as Hobart
Got Burned.

Amelia Earhart is
15-minutes of an adventure dedicated to the first female aviator to fly across
the Atlantic Ocean then suddenly disappearing in the Devil’s Triangle. It
begins with the world music in a chilling background for 1 minute and 34
seconds before the odd signatures of Rhodes, Fuzztone sounds, Drums, and Bass before
the intense section of the Wah-Wah Bass, Flutes echoing Didier Malherbe before
Billy Swan’s fuzz bass comes in.

Then the wackiness and thumping percussions and delving into
the essence of Gong’s The Isle of
Everywhere with the Herbie Hancock flavor with a spacey scenario. The last
track clocks in at 22-minutes is The
Adventures of Captain Boomerang (For Mike Forrester). The Muffins
themselves go into overdrive to make the jump for intense light speed. They are
in full control. And featuring Cuneiform founder Steve Feigenbaum on Guitar
creating the underwater section and appearing on the Amelia track, the band themselves go through these different levels
with a “Holy Shit!” momentum.

Blaring saxes and music changing gears, it’s almost as if
they had done a score for either an episode The
Ren & Stimpy Show or one of the Fleischer cartoons and almost giving
Disney and My Little Pony: Friendship is
Magic, a big gigantic middle finger. And at times they can also do the
music set to the paintings between Salvador Dali and Jackson Pollock.

I love how that the band are in full control with free-rein
with the sense of humor into their music and knowing that they are working
together as a team to capture more of the Canterbury influences like a burst of
thunder coming down at you in a quick second. They are in full control
throughout the entire piece. Now, my introduction to the band’s music was in Romantic Warriors II and III. Not to mention Prog Rock Deep Cuts with Ian Beabout.

This is the real deal if you want to delve more into the
musical boundaries of both the Rock In Opposition and Canterbury movement. If
you love the genres then check into The Muffins Manna/Mirage.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Curved Air for me, are one of the most overlooked and
underrated Progressive Rock bands to come out of the ‘70s. Among supporters
including the great John Peel and Lee Dorrian, founder of Rise Above Records
and founding member of Napalm Death and Cathedral, they have never done me
wrong when it comes to taking music to higher levels. I first heard their music
back 10 years ago when my Mom got me the 4-CD box set from Rhino entitled, Supernatural Fairy Tales: The Progressive
Rock Era. The box set has been out of print for a long time, but you can
find some copies of it on eBay.

Since their formation in the ‘70s and lead by the amazing
Sonja Kristina whose vocals just sends chills down the spine whenever I would
put on either Air Conditioning,
Phantasmagoria, or Second Album, they
would take the dark side of music to a sinister background. This year they
released the first volume of the Rarities and it’s titled, Tapestry of Propositions. The song was originally released on their
debut album in 1970 released 46 years ago on the Warner Bros. label, and it
still packs a punch both the studio and live version of the song.

Here, recorded live between 2013-14, it is a 64 minute and 34
second adventure of the different improvisations of the piece which was done by
present keyboardist, Robert Norton. He painstakingly compiled the pieces into
one of 15 movements of the song and made into a whole circle. You can close
your eyes and imagine yourself at these gigs and watching the band giving the
energy and power to delve into.

It is dark, haunting, spiritual, and raw. The variations is
right in front of your eyes. Most of the time, it’s Jazz, Fusion, Spacey,
Krautrock. Or should I say Space Rock with a Jazz-Krautrock Floydian twist
thanks to the keyboard sections done by Norton himself. Guitarist Kirby Gregory
is not just channeling the styles of former Curved Air/Sky guitarist Francis
Monkman, but he’s going through the voyages between CAN’s Michael Karoli, Hawkwind's Dave Brock, and
Ash Ra Tempel’s Manuel Gottsching.

I can imagine the band are in a tightrope after Sonja belts
her scream that gives the audience the stamp of approval and then she gives the
band the center stage and give them free rein. They want to make sure they don’t
fall to the ground and they don’t throughout the entire improvisations. This is
not your typical Dead show, this is Curved Air at their finest. Not to mention the dynamic and amazing drum work by Florian Pilkington-Miska and the intense violin work from Paul Sax.

Here they are giving the powers of a high-tech electrical
power with thunderous sections that will have jaws drop at the same time. I
always imagine Sonja not just as a singer, but I can imagine her as at times
Leopold Stokowski. She is to me, like a conductor telling the band where she
wants to go into the next section and the first volume of the rarities, I could
tell I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out where they will go next.

For me, while this is a first volume of the Curved Air
rarities, I hope they will do more and find some unearthed gems that didn’t
make it into the final cut of their albums or live material also. But here with the Tapestry of Propositions, it’s an
extended version or a director's cut of the song that you just want to put your headphones and turn
this up to 11 and be in awe of the music of Curved Air.

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About Me

I'm a blogger/freelance writer from Houston, TX who writes album reviews because I enjoy it. Even though, I'm not the best writer, there is no stop sign for me. I have a love of Progressive Rock music, Jazz Fusion, and Early Heavy Metal music from the '60s to the early '80s. I went to HCC (Houston Community College) for nine years and have completed my degree in Music in Performance: Jazz Studies. I've been writing Progressive Rock and Symphonic Metal reviews starting back in 2008 on my blogsite and it never gets old.